A family name in Vancouver's city directories
The Demerses
In the city directories 1940 · four people at four addresses
The directories print four people named Demers at four addresses in 1940 in two of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family.
Reserve this family's book, freeThe name in every directory we hold from 1901 to 1945, at every address, each line with its page, to read here or save as a PDF. About $29 when orders open.
Where the Demerses lived
- 1
1707 East 4th Avenue
Grandview-Woodland, 1940
- Cath Demers, widow of T F 1940
Next door in 1940: W M Gebbie at 1727. The block, door by door
- 2
160 East Hastings Street
Downtown, 1940
- Thomas F Demers, a conductor at the BC Electric Railway 1940
Next door in 1940: Royal Thea Barber Shop at 146 and Regent Hotel Shoe Shine at 162. The block, door by door
- 3
1814 East Pender Street
Grandview-Woodland, 1940
- G T Demers, a laborer 1940
Next door in 1940: E J Blunt at 1812 and J Kolbus at 1822. The block, door by door
- 4
1029 Melville Street
Downtown, 1940
- Demers (no first name printed) 1940
Next door in 1940: R Oldcroft at 1025 and Mrs M Rosse at 1033. The block, door by door
What they did
The name section prints a trade for two of the four: a conductor and a laborer. One is a widow, listed under her own name.
Their neighbourhoods
The addresses are in Downtown (2) and Grandview-Woodland (2). Each neighbourhood's page shows its trades, its people and every street in it, the way the directory printed them.
The story, address by address
The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Cath Demers at 1707 East 4th Avenue, widow of T F. The 1940 name section lists Thomas F Demers at 160 East Hastings Street, a conductor at the BC Electric Railway. In 1940 the directory lists G T Demers at 1814 East Pender Street. The 1940 name section lists George T Demers there as the householder, a laborer.
The 1940 name section lists Demers (no first name printed) at 1029 Melville Street.
Today
1707 East 4th and 160 East Hastings still have their buildings from before 1946, 1707 East 4th on the Vancouver Heritage Register; the City no longer lists 1814 East Pender and 1029 Melville, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).
Every line as printed
All 5 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
- Demers Cath wid T F1707 East 4th, p. 156
- Demers Thos F cond BCER160 East Hastings, p. 156
- Demers G T1814 East Pender, p. 128
- Demers Geo T lab1814 East Pender, p. 156
- Demers —1029 Melville, p. 156
British Columbia and Yukon Directory, name section, where each person's work is printed
The book of the Demerses
Every directory, as one book
The family book reads the Demers name in each Vancouver directory we hold from 1901 to 1945: everyone printed under it at every address, their work from the name sections, who lived next door, and the page behind every line, to read here or save as a PDF to print or give.
We're opening orders soon. Join the list to be first in line; we expect about $29 a family.
Another name, or a house
Sources
Henderson's and successor city directories for Vancouver, read by us line by line: the street sections for 1905, 1915, 1925, 1935, 1940 and 1945, and the name section for 1930 and 1940 where we've read it (Vancouver Public Library, BC City Directories). Names are shown through 1945, as printed. Close spellings are grouped, as on the house pages, since a family's name was often spelled differently from one year to the next; one name can still be several families, and we join lines only where the first names or initials agree. Many Chinese, Japanese and other residents weren't named by the canvassers, so they can't be listed by name: their houses' pages say where. More family names under D. Want a name removed? Tell us.